The last in our series of interviews with the international participants who attended the JUPRO camp in Baucau last week.
Meet Siwon Lee. She is 21 years old from South Korea and has been a volunteer with Korea Red Cross (RCY) for 2 ½ years.
I always think doing volunteer activities for RCY is great. It makes me feel really happy and I find it rewarding knowing that I am helping someone in need.
In Korea, our work as a volunteer is really different. For example, we make bread and distribute them in times of disaster – along with other items in times of an emergency, sometimes we pick up trash (limpezia). But here in Timor-Leste I feel the activities are much easier and cosy for me. I think being here in the natural environment of Timor-Leste makes me feel more comfortable and relaxed. It was so much fun making a lot of new friends, taking pictures together, and learning a different language.
I sometimes find it a bit hard to be happy being in a big city in Korea when I have to look for nature. But being here in Timor-Leste – I am surrounded by nature. I really love it; its great seeing a new place, a new country. It is such a different experience for me in my life.
Being here has been really good for me, as it has helped me feel much more positive about everything – I now want to think about everything in a positive way. Because all my new Timorese friends are happily living their life in a very different environment and are so thankful for every small thing.
If I ever get a chance to participate in JUPRO again, I hope there is some time given to learn about the Timorese history and culture. Timor-Leste isn’t well known to many Koreans so I want to be able to share as much information as I can about it. I hope I can come back one day and I visit different areas of Timor-Leste and take the time to study about the culture.
